San Gabriel Valley Digest

Pasadena : Irate Protesters Urge City Manager's Firing

A crowd of about 350 angry residents greeted the Board of City Directors this week at the first protest hearing on Pasadena's proposed special assessment district, which is designed to raise $17 million for repairs to gutters, street lights, curbs and sidewalks. The two-hour hearing Tuesday was interrupted several times by home-owners who shouted at board members of fire City Manager Donald McIntyre for presenting the plan.

The proposed assesment district would levy yearly fees over the next 10 years ranging from $60.11 to $96.67 for an average single-family home. Residents claimed that such fees would violate Proposition 13, and demanded that the proposal be put before the voters as a ballot measure.

A second hearing was scheduled for Wednesday and a third will be held Monday at 7 p.m. in the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. City directors must make a decision on the proposal by July 2 in order to meet the Los Angeles County assessor's deadline for computing next year's property tax bills.